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That’s because they are the commonly available small game and target shooting sizes. Generally, the bigger pellets are more effective, but the smaller sizes will work just fine at home defense distances. We’re talking pretty close here, almost any size will work. The most effective way to reduce your exposure to lead is by using gun safety practices. Never point your firearm at anything you do not intend to shoot. Only load the number of bullets as required by your weapon's design.
Also important here is the fact that friendlies and family members behind a wall inside the home are very much at risk if we send a load of shot their way. The data shows that after the second wall of standard construction, you may be OK when shooting fine shot — but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. Knowing where others are located in the home is very important if you ever find yourself in a home defense fiasco. Fine shot, delivered from close-range tends to pattern very close together and will leave a wound much like a shotgun slug.
Buckshot vs. Birdshot for Home Defense
You’ll probably get what most defensive shootings are — a psychological stop. But the chances of getting a physiological stop with birdshot are not high enough for it to be a primary round Rob would recommend for home defense. A magnum #4 duck load or a 3.5 goose round would do something pretty terrible to a person at the close ranges you're talking about in a home defense situation. It's still a shot glass of metal and at 8 feet or it isn't spreading out a heck of a lot.
The big advantage of using a slug is that it has a much longer effective range than buckshot. Additionally, shotgun slugs retain their energy better and typically penetrate much deeper than buckshot. A shotgun shooting a slug is also much more precise than a shotgun shooting buckshot. Most experts agree that reduced-power 00 buck shells in 12 gauge are the best overall choice for home defense. Slugs – These are essentially oversized bullets designed to be fired from a shotgun. They offer the advantage of tremendous stopping power.
Problem Solving on the Range: Refining Shooting Position
Birdshot may be lethal in close-range engagements, which are common in home defense circumstances. However, because it loses strength so quickly, over-penetration is far less of an issue. These simple tests convinced me that, between buckshot vs. birdshot, a standard birdshot load is usually best for a homeowner’s defensive 12-gauge shotgun. In close-range encounters, as found in most home-defense situations, birdshot can be deadly.
I’m a fan of having a round chambered BEFORE the threat is in hearing distance. I’m sure the sound of a pistol slide being racked is discomforting as well, but I never hear people advocate waiting for a threat to materialize before you do that. It doesn’t mean you need those better choices. The chance you’ll need to use something is already low, and birdshot would be fine for most home invasions anyway. While a standard wall will stop much of the birdshot, it's still wise to consider the potential for bystander injury.
Is BB shooting good for home defense?
Retay makes a full line of the Masai Mara shotguns in field guns, turkey and waterfowl models. The Warden is a tactical-home defense model and the latest of this line. All of the testing was done with a modified choke. I used 2¾-inch Aguila sporting clays shotgun ammo, packing 1 1/8-ounce of No. 7½ shot moving at 1,325 fps.
Penetration is a factor of the mass of each individual pellet, and the larger the individual pellet, the greater the penetration, if the velocity is the same. So, #6 birdshot will penetrate more than #9 birdshot, and so on. It would be lethal at any range within my property. Both of my next door neighbours have kids, and I don't want to wound a kid in their bed the next house over just because some meth head decided to root through my kitchen junk drawer at 2am.. Some “expert” shot a block of jello and proclaimed the gospel.
Using birdshot against an attacker will likely make a huge mess. Here’s how the information on the test shots into the wall shook out. I have worried about the possibility that an errant bullet might travel across the street or nextdoor and hurt someone unintentionally. I'm not exactly a diehard with pistol-caliber carbines but I definitely enjoy them. They're fun, handy, and can be very practical.
The single shot shot gun can be a formidable defense weapon. And one of those is Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch. I have a midland light weight 12 ga single shot and it is deadly. Yes, I have a tactical shotgun, and others.
I do have heavier turkey shot on hand as a compromise. Remember a 20 gauge slug round delivers greater force than a .44 Magnum. Watched video of an internet expert pattern a judge at 30 feet with birdshot and claimed the gun was worthless.
I have an Ithaca 51 auto 12 ga, 2.75 Federal, 1st shot 1oz rifled slug, next three shots are XX 00 buck. I know a former Green Beret with 3 Silver Star awards. Of all the weapons he owns, he keeps a Judge by his bed, loaded with Winchester PDX rounds.
There is also my keltec bullpup shotty 6 loads of 00 and 6 shots of slug with back up irons and a flashlight. My “bump-in-the-night” gun is a Mossberg 500 w/18.5 inch barrel , filled with 1-1/4 oz. I also have within easy reach of my bed, a blinding flashlight.
A 12 GA shotgun has been and will always be the best home defense weapon. Especially if you want to avoid over penetration and still take down an aggressor. Handguns and ARs while great self protection weapons tend to over penetrate and if you love your family or like your neighbors that’s a bad thing. My 870 with extended mag is loaded with one 71/2 high velocity round with coated shot.
Must be a typo but I eagerly anticipate the train wreck. I have a 12 Gauge Pump with 00 Buckshot on the rack behind my head. In my office I have a 45/70 with Bear Shot.
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